Rotary-rod weeder



VL. c. VAN PATTEN AND1. B. woLFE.

ROTARY ROD WEEDER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1920. RENEWED JUNE 2l Patented Oct. 11,

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

70.2% 3. Ira/fe.

ATTORNEYS I L.,C. VAN PATTEN AND l. B. WOLFE. I ROTARY BOD WEEDER. l APPLICATION man MAY a, 1920. nENEwfn :una 2|. 1921.

1,393,055. Patented oen 11, 1921.

[r Irl pl L. C. VAN PATTEN AND J. B. WOLFE.

ROTARY ROD WEEDER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1920. RENEWED JUNE 21,1921. 1,393,055.V

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

INVENTOR oak trappe/95er.

To all whom t may concern: Be it.' known that we, LoUIs out catching.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Louise. vAN BATTEN AND JOEL 2B. WOL-rn, OrcHENEY, WASHINGTON, AssIGNons To no'rAnY lnon w'nni'inn ANDMANUFACTURING COMPANY, INCORPORATED, or

CHENEY, WASHINGTON,

ROTARYr-ROD WEEDER.

- Specification 5f Leaersieatm. Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

i *Application filed May 8, 1920. Seriall No. 379,859. Renewed June 21, 1921. Serial No. 479,312.

CJVANPA'r- 'PEN and vJOEL B. ,VVoLra :citizens-'of the United States, residing at Cheney, in the 'county of: Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Rotary-Rod leeders, of which the 'following is a' specification.

Y Our invention relates to certain new and usefullimprovements in weeders of the Yrotary rodtype such as disclosed, foreXample,

iii the patent to G. H. Wolfe, #1,232,149, granted July 3, 1917. yThe weeders of the type disclosed inthe VOlfe patent while operating very successfully underV ordinary conditions; have beenv found notl to entirely meet the requirements of practice when-the "weeder is to be used in operating upon Abig weeds.

y inthe `formermachine, `it vwill be noticed by reference to the patent aforesaid, thehitchbar was placed in front of thema- ;:cliin'e and connected -to theV iron standards witlrlinks or chain., This .connection with the iron standards sometimes caused the machiney to clogin big weeds, due to the fact that the hitch links heldrthe weeds `froi'n "working up on the iron standards and pressed them between the links and the ground, thus preventing the Vweeds from workingup on the standard and being pushedfor pulled around the stand- "ard so as to be out of the way. 'Practice has demonstrated that -iniA big weeds it is necessary to force the rod deep into the ground. so that with the weeder constructed as disclosed in tlie patent aforesaid,when working in big weeds, the-hitch links were workingv veryclose to the ground and the small Aspace between the surface of the` ground and the hitchlinks was foundlto, be insufficient to allow big Weeds through with- 5 Oui" present invention therefore has foiI its primary'object to avoid the objections above noted and so improve the Wolfe weeder as to eliminate the clogging of the weeds in the manner referred to.

In its general nature, the present invention provides lfor the location of the hitch bar behind the main beam and forming with the main beam a frame lto which a lifting lever is rigidly secured.' The tiller. frame bars are brought under the hitch bar-main beainsfranie in the-preferable embodiment of the invention and hinged adjacent to the' front Vedge of the main beam; projecting from the hitch bai` and connected to thek main beam are two members used to hitch the team or tractor to themachine. These members `together with theV hitch bar and main beam and suitable braces, make a .rigid frame' `and braces are provided from `the hitch bar to the rod bearing shoes at thel back of the standards, thus imparting considerable strength to the` machine for purposes hereinafter made clear. l

The invention also has for itsobject to vprovide means whereby `the hitch is so bal anced that the tilting lever does not need to be `fastened down but will just stay down without fastening yet when the rod or shoe strikes a rock, the resistance caused by the obstruction willV be suflicient to lift the leverV a nicety in any kindofsoil and in the preferable embodiment of our invention this is accomplished by the provision of a wheel in addition to the traction wheel that drives lthe-.rotary rod, theadditional wheel and the traction wheel having provisionrfor being adjustably and fixedly located with relation to the mainbeain so that the rod will be held at a definitedistance below the surface of the ground.

Another object of the invention is the elimination of4 the shoes or skids used in forming a fulcruin when tilting the former patented structure and to place the function of the skids in the additional wheel and in the traction wheel, thus effecting a quicker .and more eficient operation in raising the rotary rod outof the ground. ln its more subordinate nature, the invention also includes those novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all of which will be first fully described, then be specifically pointed out in the appended4 claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which illustrate` a preferred embodiment of the'invention and in which:

' Figure 1 isa perspective view showing our Fig. lis a vertical'longitudinal section ofthe same? `f `Fig. a diagrammatic view illustrating the position of the'parts with the-rod at normal penetration andV under normal operation.v

F ig. 6 is a similar diagrammatic view showingV theoperation of the parts when the rotary rod or one of its'standards engages a or the like.; i Y

lg. 7is a detail enlarged section 'showing the lever lifted' and the rod raised outV of the ,giound. Y f i fixed obstructionsuch asa rock, 'tree stump Fig. 8 yis a detail view of 'thesecond Wheel c l thesamefthefdraft'thrust being transmitted adjusting bracket.y f

lil ig. 9 is a-perspective 'view of a Amodification of the invention hereinafter referred to. Fig. 10 is a detail vertical longitudinal 3 Y section on the line "l0-'10 of Fig. 3.

Vof reference indicatelileparts'in all of the In the drawings, in which like numerals figures, 1 represents the main beam from which the standards 4 project', the standards fl having the usual bearing shoes 5 for the rotatable rod 6 which'isr'driven by'the traction wheel 7 through the usual transmission shaft 8, as has heretofore been the practice. Thetr'action wheel 7 is carried bythe hinged framef9' whichformsan end extension of the vbeam 1 aiid'iSadjuStably held Vby pins 11 passing through-holes in the beam land Ythe bars ofthe frame i9 so as to locate the wheel 7'infa position'v to effect a'great'eror it is obvious thatl other well known means may be provided for the purpose, if desired.)

lsti'tiite a rigid frame.

12is'the lifting lever 'which is secured rigidly to the beam l1 and to the hitch bar 13 which lies tothe rear of-the'beain 1 and is connected with Asuch beam by thelongi- Atudinal bars 16V which lie under Vthe beam 1 and under the hitch bar 13.V Thebeam` land hitch bar'13 are also connected by Vlongitudinal braces A14 and diagonal braces 16 so 4that the parts 1, 13, 14;, 15 and 160011 2 is, the Vtiller. frame which carriesV the tiller wheel 3, Vthe tiller 'frame 2 consisting wardly and V hingedly secured4 at 23 ltothe 'front of the beam 1, the bars ofthe tiller' frame preferably lying under the :hitch bar 13 and the beam 1. Y

, The `longitudinal draft bars 16 are provided with *clevis* plates 19 to which-thev traetion engine or Vteam 'may be hitched in the' usual way ;l theJ lclevis plates 19 being braced by braces 17-18 so as to form a rigid structure. Y t i y 20 is the additional wheel, which is mountthe beam 1 at the end opposite to that to which the traction wheel 7 is connected.`

By adjustingthe Jpositon =of the wheel 2OY on its bracket y21,1and by "adjusting the p0- "sition ofijth'ewhe'el 7 through the medium of thepins 11 Ltheifdepth of penetrationof the lrod6can,beregulatedto'a nicety..

In order to Y transmit-the draft thrust to the standards -4 at their-lower ends and to 'brace' the said fstandfards rearwardly extendiii-g diagonal 'braces '22 are provided which are connected-'at "f251to thebearingshoes 5 and Vfait .26;to 'a fixture on the hitch bar 13. Thus, it 'willbe seen that'by vthe present construction `the -line of draft lies horizontally close tothe hingefaX'is 23 butslightly below downwardly-'and forwardly through the ydiagonal braces 22-tothe llower vends of the standards ekqfAsgthe -lever 12 lies slightly fabove `the axis 4of'gthe hinge 23 `and as the line lof -draftvis slightly below the axis of `the 'hin'gef23, the.v draft pull on the vehicle 4tendsfto hold ithe lever '12 `down against the `cross bar24 ofthe tiller'frame The re! ,the vforce acting along-the line of draft, may

be very'nearly counter-balanced `by the re- Vzsisting forces encountered by the rotary rod in passing :throughgthe soil. Thus, when it `is desiredv to" raise the rod wout -ofY the .ground .avery slight: upward lift on the end of the lever 12 will belsiificientto overcome the balance andfenablethe rod to be. raised out of the ground. VLikewise an unusual resistance totheonward moticn'of kthe rod as, for eX- .ample, when the rodiencounters a fixed obstruction` will Vbe sufficient to overcome the balance I'thuscausinglever 12 -to be elevated as shown in the-diagrammatic figure, Fig.

6 :of the drawing.

From .the foregoing,it V'will'be seen that by placing the hitch bar behind the main lbeam yand bracing it. tothe main beam to 'form part ioffa frame and :by providing the diaft="lnirsA :16 'as apart ofA that' fra-Ine a rigid frame structure iis `providedfandfthemachine greatly strengthened. .The diagonal braces f22'iin1 connection Ewitlrfthis rigid frame are,

suchY that if'the bearingshoe' strikes a rock, it has a'strong bi'acepushing `from behind it and breakage from this cause will be re-,

Vedfon an adjustable bracket 21 secured to duced to the minimum. Practice has demonstrated that by using the same size materials as are used in the previously patented weeder, with one or two minor exceptions, a machine is providedl by our present construction that will work in rocks or anything and be strong enough to hang up a six horse team without breaking anything.

It will also be observed that by our construction, it is unnecessary to lift the tiller frame from the ground under any conditions. When the machine strikes a rock or other impassable obstruction, the main frame tips allowing the rod to rise and pass over the obstruction (see Fig.r6). This is entirely automatic. The hitch is so balanced that the lever does not need to be fastened down but it will just stay down with no fastening. When the rod or a shoe strikes a rock, the vresistance caused by the obstruction is sufficient to lift the lever until the obstruction is passed and then the rod and lever` will resume their proper places.

The hitch is so evenly balanced that in normal conditions a small childV can raise or lower the lever. Any heavy obstruction will be sufficient to push the rod backward and upward so that the machine will glide over the obstruction. lVealso wish to call attention to the fact that this balanced hitch is used without springs or other resilient devices, which is du-e to the special design of the machine as a whole. In hard ground the hitch may be connected tothe clevis plate higher or lower, as required, to force the rod to its proper depth and this may also be facilitated by placing weights on the inachine, if necessary. However arranged, the balance would be maintained and the great value of the machine for working in roots or rocks is secured.

We also desire-to call attention to the fact that by our arrangement of hitch the same leaves the whole length of the iron standards without braces in front or anything elseto cat-ch the weeds and clogging the machine. The whole front of the iron standard is free and even large weeds or bunches of straw yor stubble will come against the iron stand ards and will work up` and around and away without clogging or impeding the work in any way.

Attention is further directed to the fact that another feature of this invention lies in the fact that the depthcan. be regulated to a nicety in any kind of soil, thus making the machine pull lighter and doing better work under certain conditions.

Byproviding the additional wheel 29,-we find that the use of the skids or runner bars (20 inthe drawings of Patent #1,232,149) may bev entirely eliminated, and as the wheels 2() and Il' remain in contact with the ground while the rod isworking Ait will be" seen that the point of fulcrum on which the rod is raised is constantly ready vto function, thus as soon as the operator begins to lift the lever 12 the rod `beg ins to come ont of' the ground, thereby eliminating lost motionin the part lifted. i

As best shownin Figs. l, 3 and lO, a bracket 27 is fastened tothe rear side ofthe drive frame or head 9, a vertical pieceof steel 28 forming the `'face of the bracket. The vertical member 28 flat so that it'ma'j; press against a roller 29 fastened to the `front side of the hitch bar or rear beam `of the frame. l This arrangement allows the drive head to play up or down, according to the condition of the ground over which it goes. Vf

(the pin 1l, of course, being removed) and yet it cannot get `out of position so as to l" l onv the main beam. By shimming up the rollerbracket 29 the necessary adjustment can be made so aste keep the head 9 free of y ,f f

binding Contact with the/end of the beamV to which it is pivoted according to the need of the situation.

It will, of course.` also be understood that the eXtra wheel 20 may be omitted and the lever l2 may be permanently fastened to the tiller frame at its rear end or the lever 1.2 may be entirely omitted and the tiller frame secured directly -to the main beam l and the .hitch bar 13, as shown in Fig.A 9. Vhile the form shown in Figs.` l to 8, inclusive, is the preferred form, we desire, however, to have it understood that our invention is not hmited to this particular construction but inclndes as well such a structure, for example, asis shown in Fig. 9. The structure shown in Fig. 9v while not possessing all of the efficiency of the structure shown in the preceding figures is, nevertheless, a practical machine. l/Vhen the structure shown in Fig. 9 is employed, the balance can still be maintained by changingthe position of the draft connection of the cle 'is so that the line of draft will be at such distance from the rotary rodv as toy counteract the weight of the tiller frame and the driver, it being, of course, understood that in this form in order to lift the rotary rod out lof the ground the driver gets ott the vtiller frame and lifts it, as in the lVolfe patent hereinbefore referred to. Other changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be readily made without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. l

From the' foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings it is thought the complete construction, op-

eration and' advantages of the invention will4 curing said hitch bar and beam together,

a: i l i maaar@ draft bars extending forwardly of the main beam in a plane close to that containing the beam and hitch bar, a tiller framefhinged to said beam, a lever for rocking the beam, a rotary rod, driving mechanism for the rod including a traction wheel adjustably Carried by the main beam, and means forming afulcrum for said lever.

, 2. In rotary rod-weeders, a main beam, bearing standards carried thereby, a hitch bar at the rear of said beam, means securing said hitch bear and beam together, draft bars extending forwardly of the main beam in a plane ,close /to that containing the beam ,and hitch bar, a tiller framehinged to said-beam, a lever for rocking the beam, a rotary rod, driving mechanism for the rod including a traction wheel adjustably carV ried by the main beam, means for forming .a fulcrum for said lever, and braces connecting the lower ends of said bearing standards with the hitch bar.'`

3. In rotary rod weeders, amainbeam, bearing standards carried thereby, a hitch bar at the rea-r of said beam, means secur- Y ing said'hitch bar and beam together, vdraft bars extending forwardly of the main beam in a plane close to that containing the beam andhitch bar, a tiller frame hinged to said beam, a lever forrocking the beam, a. rotary rod, driving mechanism for the rod including` a traction wheel adyustably carried bythe main beam, and means for ad justing the depth of penetration of the rod in the ground. Y Y

4l. In rotary rod weeders, a main beam,

Abearing standards carried thereby, a hitch bar at the rear of said beam, means securingsaid hitch bar. and beam together,'draft bears extending forwardly of the main beam in a plane close to that containing the beam and hitch bar, a `tiller frame hinged to said beam, a lever for rocking the beam, a rotary rod, driving vmechanism for the rod including atractionwheel adjustably carried by the main beam, and a second wheel vadjustably carried by the Vbeam to coperate with the traction wheel for Aadjusting the penetration of the rod in the ground and alsoA to form a fulcrum for said lever.

5. In rotary rod wee'ders wherein is provided a main beam carrying the rod bearing stan-dard in which the rotary rod is located, and carrying the rotary rod driving mechanism; a hitch bar secured to the main beam in the rear thereof, draft members cony nected to the hitch bara-nd projecting 'forvided a main beam carrying the rod bear# wardly of the main beam. a lever secured r Vto the` main-beam anda tiller frame hinged 60,

to the main beam substantially as shown and described.

6. In rotary rod weeders wherein is .pro-

ing Vstandard in which the rotary .rod' `is located, and carrying the rotary lrod driving mechanism-g a hitch bai* `secured to themain beam in the rear thereof, draft members connected to the hitch bar -and -pi'ojecting'forwa-rdly of the main beam, alever securedto the mainbearn, and a tiller frame hinged to the main beam,'the hinge axis of said'til.-

vnected to the-hitch bar and projecting'for-- ivardly of the mainA beam, a lever secured to the main beam, `and a' tiller frame hinged to the main beannthe hinge'axis'lying at Ysuch distance from the line of draft that theforce tendingto hold the lever down will be. substantially balanced by the normal force actingagainstv the rotary rod in its travel through` the ground which Vtends to raise the lever. n 8. In rotary rod-weeders wherein isprovided'amain beam carryingthe'rod bear ingrstandardsin the 'bearings of which the rotary rod is journaled and to which main beam the rotary rod driving. mechanism is secured; of a tiller frame hingedly connected to `the main f beam, "a .lever for rocking the main beam` on the hinge connection, means forming a fulcrum for said lever whereby as said lever is raised the rotary rod will be' brought out ofthe ground, a. hitch bar mounted at the rear of said beam, draft connections with the 'hitch Vbar extending forwardly of the beamin proximity to the same substantially as shown and described.' Y

9. In rotary rod vweeders wherein is `provided a mainbeam carrying the rod bearing lever is raised the rotary rod will be brought out of the ground, a hitch bary mounted at the rear of said beam, draft connections with the hitch bar extending forwardly of the beam in proximity to the same, all being arranged whereby the force acting along the line of draft is applied below the hinge connection to. tend to hold said Alever down against the tiller frame, substantially as shown and described. Y

10. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a, mainV beam carrying the rod bearing standards in the bearings of which the rotary rod is journaled and to which main beam the rotary rod driving mechanism 'is secured; of a tiller frame hingedlyconnected to the main beam, a lever for rocking the izo main beam on the hinge connection, means forming a fulcrum for said lever whereby as said lever is raised the rotary rod will be brought out of the ground, a hitchV bar mounted at the rear of said beam, draft connections with the hitch bar extending forwardly of the beam in close proximity to the same, all being arranged whereby the force acting along the line of draft is applied below the hinge connection to tend to hold said lever down against the tiller frame with a force but slightly in excessof the resistant forces encountered by the travel of the rotary rod which tends to raise the lever thereby providing a substantially counterbalanced lever.

11. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam, rod carrying standards projected downwardly from the beam, a rotary rod mounted in bearings at the lower ends of said standards, and means for driving the rotary rod; a tiller frame hinged to said main frame beam, a lever secured to the main beam for rocking the beam on the hinge axis, means forming a fulcrum for said lever, a hitch bar carried by the beam at the rear of the same and draft bars secured to the hitch bar and beam wherebythe line of draft will lie below the hinge axis substantially as sho-wn and described.

12. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam, rod carrying standards projected downwardly from the beam, a rotary rod mounted in bearings at the lower ends of said standards, and means for driving the rotary rod; a tiller frame hingedV to said main beam, a lever secured to the main beam for rocking the beam on the hinge axis, means forming a fulcrum for said lever, a hitch bar carried by the beam at the rear of the same and draft bars secured to the hitch bar and beam whereby the line of draft will lie below the hinge axis and at such distancel belowT the hinge axis as to exert a force of such magnitude which tends to hold said lever down as will be substantially counterbalanced by the resistant force against the travel of the rotary rod that tends to lift the lever up, substantially as shown and for the purposes described.

13. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam for carrying the rod bearing standards in which the rotary rod is journaled and wherein is provided a tiller frame hinged to the beam and a lever secured to the beam and adapted to lie against the tiller frame and wherein is provided draft applying means; means forming a cooperative part of the draft applying means for substantially counterbalancing the force tending to move said lever while the machine is in operation. y

14C. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam carrying the rod bearing standards in which the rotary rod is located, and carrying the rotary` rod driving mechanism; a hitch bar secured to the main beam in the rear thereof, draft members connected to the hitch bar and projecting forwardly of the main beam, a tiller frame connected to the main beam and extending rearwardly of the hitch bar.

15. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam carrying the rod bearing standards in which the rotary rod is located, and carrying the rotary rod driving mechanism; a hitch bar secured to the main beam in the rear thereof, draft members connected to the hitch bar and projecting forwardly of the main beam, a tiller frame connected to the main beam and extending rearwardly of the hitch bar, said draftV members including longitudinal. draft bars and clevis adjustably secured to said draft bars whereby the f Y line of draft may be adjusted higher or lower to counterbalancethose parts to the rear of the main beam which are' fixed with respect to the main beam. Y

16. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam carrying rod bearing standards in which the rotary rod is located, and carrying the rotary rod driving mechanism; a hitch bar secured to the main beam in the rear thereof and fixe-dly located with relation to the main beam; draft members connected to the hitch beam and extending longitudinally toward and projecting in front of the main beam, said draft members including adjustable elements whereby the line of draft may be raised and lowered with respect to the rotary rod to counterbalance those part-s which project to the rear of and are secured to the main beam, and a lever secured to the main beam and extending rearwardly thereof.

17. In rotary rod weeders wherein is provided a main beam carrying the rod bearing standards in which the rotary rod is located and carrying the rotary rod driving mechanism; a hitch bar, draft members connected to the hitch bar and projecting forwardly of and secured to the main beam, a lever secured to the main beam and connected with the hitch bar, and a tiller frame hinged to the main beam and projecting rearwardly 115 of the hitch bar.

LOUIS C. VAN PATTEN. JOEL B. WOLFE. 

